Happy Holidays 2011

The Holidays are supposed to be about love, magic, big smiles, and everything light and delicious.

So then I won't tell you about the colds and the ear infections,T.A.N.T.R.U.M.S. and the IDON'TWANTTOs (shhhh). No, I will just stick to stories of glorious moments in between.

Like our wonderful plane ride from San Francisco to Washington, where after a short initial shock of the flight being over sold and our original seats getting bumped, the UrbanToddler and I got seats in the front row of the Virgin flight with plenty of leg room and unlimited FREE access to the in-flight entertainment and meal service, with Mr. Urban sitting a safe distance behind us.

Gates to the White House

And our short lived sightseeing trip around the Nation's capital, which swiftly ended on a high note, with drinks at the magnificent lobby of the W, where the UrbanToddler gushed over the soft zebra tables around the room.

Mr. Urban had planned a fun train ride trip from Washington to New York for us. But who would have figured that an 11:00 am ride before Christmas would be akin to taking a child to NASA's control room right before liftoff. The train was filled with men in suits on conference calls, banging away at their laptops. Needless to say, our constant shushing left such a great image of train rides for our girl that she declared she would be taking the plane back.

Drinks at the Plaza

Eloise's House

And then there was taking in the Holidays by walking around Fifth Ave and Rockefeller Center at night, enjoying the magnificently decorated shop windows, lights and all the cheer in the chilly air, skating with Santa by day, visiting Eloise's house, cocktails at the beautiful lobby of the Plaza, and even a lovely dinner at Mario Batali's Lupa.

Urban Mommy and Toddler Skating

30 Rock

We were finally home in time to enjoy a nice Christmas feast with family, indulging in Barefoot Contessa's Cauliflower Gratin (easy and delicious), Pioneer Woman's Mushroom Bundles, homemade Yam Fries with a tangy sun dried tomato lime dip, nuts and fruits and white wine stuffing, my mother-in-law's perfect saffron glazed turkey, my own orange vanilla creme caramel with a side of Bailey's for optional pouring, and Mr. Urban's well paired red wines.

And when it was all said and done it was time to relax with a nice sippy cup of warm milk on the couch in a new pink dress and green painted toes... one would hope, reflecting on how to use Big Girl Voice :)

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